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Donna and John Crean to be Honored with the 10th Star on the Anaheim/OC Walk of Stars

ANAHEIM, CA - (February 4, 2009) - Donna and the late John Crean, Orange County business owners and generous philanthropists, will be honored with a star on the Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars in Anaheim, on Tuesday, February 10 at 11:30 a.m. The ceremony, postponed from December due to heavy rains, will take place on Harbor Blvd., near the Disneyland main gate entrance. This star represents the 10th star in the ever-growing monument to community and visionary leaders.

Donna and John’s son Andrew Crean, one of the Crean’s four grown children, will accept the honor on behalf of his mother and late father. Donna is anticipated to be in attendance.

The Creans founded Fleetwood Enterprise, Inc. in Anaheim in 1950, and the company remains one of the country’s largest designers and manufacturers of recreational vehicles (RVs). Fleetwood’s first factory and headquarters, which would later become a Forbes Platinum company and publicly traded on the New York Stock exchange, were located on South Street in Anaheim. All the policies and procedures that made Fleetwood successful were developed at this location. The company later moved to Riverside in order to house its growth.

Upon Donna and John’s retirement in 1998, the innovative founders had grown the business to a $3 billion-a-year Fortune 500 company with 19,000 workers, 18 RV plants and 38 manufactured housing plants in 17 states and Canada.

The hallmark of the business was putting customers and employees first. The Creans frequently traveled across the country in their RV to talk to other RV owners about what they preferred or disliked in the product. John would return to the office headquarters and implement some of those changes. They were also one of the first employers to offer profit-sharing programs to their workers.

The Creans generously gave and continue to support numerous organizations and causes. Having said they were “blessed to be a blessing” (Orange County Register, June 9, 2007), the Creans established The Crean Family Foundation. John and Donna, inspired by a Lutheran church service minister, increased their tithing and donated half of their annual earnings to charity. The Foundation’s recent and largest gift has been a $10 million donation to Lutheran High School in Irvine. Other beneficiaries include Anaheim’s Children’s Bureau of Southern California, the Anaheim chapter of Cystic Fibrosis, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, The Orange County Philharmonic Society, the YWCA Hotel for Women, the Crystal Cathedral, the Santa Ana Zoo, and children’s hospitals and homeless shelters.

Parking for the Walk of Stars ceremony will be available in Disneyland’s Pumba Parking Lot, located off Disney Way, between Harbor Blvd. and Anaheim Blvd. Anaheim Resort Transit shuttle buses will take guests to and from the parking lot to the ceremony site.

The Creans join Walt Disney, Margaret and Carl Karcher, Henry and Susan Samueli, the Yorba family, the Taormina family, Gene Autry, Monsignor John Sammon, restaurateur Bruno Serato, and The Righteous Brothers on the Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars.

ABOUT ANAHEIM –The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation’s premier municipalities and is one of California’s most populous cities. Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 348,000 residents and more than 2,900 City employees. The municipal corporation’s annual budget is $1.6 billion. Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as: Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc.; L-3 Communications; Pacific Sunwear; and Disneyland Resort. Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including: Angels Baseball; Anaheim Ducks; the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, and the 2012 Olympic Games Silver Medal winning U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with: The Anaheim Convention Center, LEED-certified and the largest on the west coast; Honda Center; City National Grove of Anaheim; Anaheim GardenWalk; Angel Stadium of Anaheim; and ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center). In addition, Anaheim embraces its vibrant cultural arts community, including the world-renowned Anaheim Ballet. Annually, Anaheim welcomes more than 20 million visitors to the City, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.

Anaheim Anytime is available 24/7. For questions regarding the City of Anaheim, simply dial 311 from any Anaheim-based landline phone or from (714) 765-4311 from a cell phone or any phone outside the city limits. Anaheim Anytime representatives are available from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday - Friday. Recorded information and a voice mail box is also available 24/7.